For All My Children, or Approaching African American Children’s Picture Books

Abstract

Some of our first impressions of ourselves, of our world, and of our places in trie world emerge from texts—print and nonprint—presented to us as children by adults—teachers, family, and guardians. From seeing Spot run to watching Father and Mother with Dick and Jane, we stumbled into a world of near perfection, where everyone spoke a passionless standard of English, wore clean pastel-colored clothes, and were costumed in pink skin, straight hair, and bright white teeth with matching wide smiles. The innocence of youth gave many of us little reason to question that Cinderella, Jesus, cowboys, Mother Goose, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and Barbie could only be imaged and imagined as white. Thus, too many persons of color grew up nourished by images often different from our perceptions of our racial, familial, and cultural selves as legitimate beings with rightful places in the world. If we existed as people of color, we existed in and along the margins as others inhabited the center.

I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races.

Langston Hughes, “Theme for English B”